T-28 Trojan Foundation

Juan C Peron, former Makasi pilot

Unforgotten Hero recounts the life story of 2nd Lt. Jimmy L. Escalle, a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot who became missing in action during the Korean War. Jimmy trained in the T-28A at Webb AFB 3560th PTW, the advanced single engine program that was the precursor to jet transition. For photographs and links, see the new page in this website: Webb AFB 3560th PTW.

"Ironic, 575 (a sister ship T-28C) never left the Navy training bases and rotted away in the scrap yards, yet 255 & 576 traveled to Africa, did some giving (bombs and bullets) as well as some taking. Did a most improbable journey back to England than the US… and are still flying better than ever. - Paul Walter

Manny Pichardo and Paul designed a Makasi decal that now appears on both 576 & 255.

Photo and caption from Leif Hellstrom's Part 1 article in Air Britain. (See Makasi page in this website for more info). Bunia, near Ugandan border became a major T-28 base in December 1964. The aircraft in the rear (of this photo) is T-28C 146255 which had an accident in early 1965 and was out of service for 3 years. Photo courtesy of Gaston Rodriguez. *Editor's note. the aircraft in front is Paul Walter's T-28C "576."

I apologize for the inconvenience while I dispute Zazzle's decision deleting the T-28 calendar as they claim it is in violation of the USN Trademark and Copyright rules. I vehemently disagree and am in the process of getting clarification directly from the USN Trademark Office. I have given legal notice to Zazzle to immediately reinstate the calendar for private sale. I will keep you posted.

Due to the overwhelming response to my request for photographs, I am designing a second version of the 70th Anniversary calendar as well to include a more diverse coverage of T-28 pilots and their planes. This first version highlights many of the airshow performers worldwide (Australia, Norway, Germany & Switzerland) who keep the T-28 history alive reaching hundreds of thousands of spectators. The airshow pilots spend many hours training at their own expense, their performances reflect a high degree of aerobatic and formation flying skills that the T-28 was originally designed for to train military student pilots then over the years in war as an attack and bombing aircraft. I hope you enjoy the calendar! - Helen Murphy

(The T-28 70th Anniversary Calendar is designed by me as a courtesy to the T-28 community with the generous help from the photographers who donated their photographs. It is sold through the Zazzle website who prints and ships on demand. I have been using Zazzle for 10 years and trust their work and customer service, however, I do not have control over the quality of their printing nor shipping arrangements. Any disputes must be handled through Zazzle directly. I have the price as low as possible, but Zazzle offers sales discounts as the holidays come closer so check their website).

Steve Walenz and Greg Spatz standing proudly in front of their prized warplane,T-28C BuNo 146255, knowing it will be here after they are. "You'll only be it's caretaker, it will outlive you," said the previous owner they bought it from in 2016.

Greg recalls how they came about deciding on buying "255": Steve and I were walking around Oshkosh two years ago and had both flown in our personal planes. Steve has a TBM 850 and I have a Twin Bonanza. When walking around the Warbirds display we both said let’s get a warbird! We went back and forth on which type and decided on a T-28. There were a lot of them still flying out there, it had curb appeal, great performance and was affordable.

We found N255NA in West Texas in great condition (we didn’t want a project one) and it had new radios and a new engine with all the mod’s. The owner’s nephew was willing to fly it back with us to Florida so we knew it was a good bird.

It came with three engine cores, extra prop and lots of spare parts. We did not know about its history till well after we bought it. We love flying it.

Greg and Steve plan on flying their T-28C up to Sheboygan for the T-28 formation clinic where you can see it parked next to Paul Walter's T-28C. Both planes served in the Congo in the '60s flown by the Cuban-Makasi pilots. Greg and Steve live in Florida and met up with Manny Pichardo whose father served in the Congo. Manny was able to introduce them to many of the other surviving Makasi's and Bridgade 2506 members in Miami during a recent book signing event for "Cold War Navy Seal" by James Hawes.

Red Bull unveils it's T-28 after being in restoration for years.

click thumbnail to see back cover credits

I would like to thank all the pilots and especially the photographers:

"I'm going to go on record and say this is a very special T-28C that has extraordinary war history."

- Helen Murphy

"Keep Calm and Trojan On"

The Raven Chronicles, In Our Own Words, is a unique collection of first person accounts by the USAF forward air controllers who flew in the Secret War in Laos. Restricted by the 1962 Geneva Agreement, they flew in civilian clothes in unmarked light spotter aircraft. These pilots regularly operated from primitive dirt landing sites, often flying in poor weather, with few navigational aids, under the constant threat of enemy fire, and in the midst of towering mountains and unforgiving karst formations. According to USAF history, they were one of the success stories of the war. They built a legend of efficiency and daring in their control of RLAF and USAF strikes in support of Laotian ground units.

In addition to the stories, many of the Raven authors have shared photographs from their personal collection, some never seen by the public before. For more information see the Raven Chronicles Archives page on this website under "Call Sign Raven."

This website is best viewed on desktop, it can be viewed on mobile devices but the text and photo's will not appear in the same order as the desktop version.

All Photographs, videos and stories have copyrights. Reproduction in any manner is prohibited.

T-28 Radial "Round Sounds"

courtesy of David Ramsey

1. T-28 Start 2. Take-off

3. Fly-bys 4. Returning

click on right arrow o scroll thru selection

click on middle arrow to play

T-28 Start3:06

T-28 take-off0:40

T-28 fly-bys3:47

T-28 Returning2:08

Raven 43 Will Platt's collection of personal accounts of the Secret War in Laos along with never before seen photographs of the war.

Col. (ret) Craig Duehring's memoir from boyhood in Minnesota, to USAF pilot training to flyng as a Raven during the Secret War in Laos. See also:

50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War. The official commemorative period started in May 2012 and will run through November 2025. The commemoration honors and thanks the veterans of the Vietnam War, including personnel who were held as POW's or listed as MIA for their service and sacrifice on behalf of the United States and to honor and thank the families of these veterans. It highlights the service of all the Armed Forces during the Vietnam War and the contributions of Federal agencies and other organizations that served with or in support of the Armed Forces.

Welcome to the T-28 Trojan Foundation website; a compilation of T-28 history. Our goal is to be the central resource on the "living" history of the T-28 aircraft, the people and event's associated with it.

Inside these pages, as you read the stories, view the photographs of times past & present and watch the video's, you will gain a greater appreciation for the T-28, a more profound understanding of it's role in military aviation history, and inspiration from the many pilots who flew the "Mighty Trojan."

It's legendary tour of duty continues because of all the wonderful pilots who have restored and currently fly their T-28 warbirds for the public to enjoy. I know you will enjoy, as well, all the information this website has to offer.